


Analog Heart

by LisbonFragment



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: F/F, Foiled Confessions, Light Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:28:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29521581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LisbonFragment/pseuds/LisbonFragment
Summary: To Rina, witnessing the full extent of Yū’s kind nature, rooted in an honest desire to support others to the best of her abilities, had felt like a revelation: her senior would always be there to support her, no matter what, and that was something she’d never forget.And now, after so many weeks, Rina had finally found an opportunity to confess her feelings towards the girl, and she wasdeterminedto take it.This was her chance.Right?
Relationships: Takasaki Yuu/Tennouji Rina
Kudos: 12





	Analog Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RubyKurosawa18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyKurosawa18/gifts).



> Thanks to [Ethanol](/users/Ethanol/) for beta reading!

Rina Tennōji was waiting in an empty classroom, playing a videogame by herself on the handheld console she’d snuck into the school as a way to pass the time. The pink-haired girl was sitting at her very own desk, located right next to the sliding door that separated the room from the hallways, waiting for the return of a certain blonde. 

The numbers on the right side of the console’s status bar, summoned every now and then through a small swiping gesture at the edge of the screen, signaled it was a little past 16:25. At this hour, students were expected to be at their respective clubs after classes had come to an end, but Rina had no such obligation today. 

Practice at the School Idol club had been called off for the day, because a significant amount of members found themselves unable to attend for a variety of reasons: some had to be present at their other clubs, some had personal matters to take care of, some had obligations at home, and so on. 

Even Rina’s friends from the Information Processing course had prior commitments, which left the pink-haired girl with no company to speak of. Luckily for her, though, she had made plans to visit Joypolis with her best friend, Ai Miyashita, later that day, so all she needed to do was to wait a little bit more. 

A little bit more and Rina would be able to have fun. 

Honestly, she didn’t mind this temporary solitude, at all. 

The silence offered by this lonely setting, especially at this uneventful time of the day where most of the students had left the main building, felt a little nostalgic. In the past, these quiet moments were spent in a similar fashion: finding a secluded space for herself, settling into a solo activity that didn’t require much effort, and then letting the minutes fly by. 

At the time, having no friends made sense to the pink-haired girl. Taking into account her complete lack of facial expressions, which still frustrated her to this day, coupled with her introverted personality and her awkwardness around other people, Rina being a loner felt like a natural outcome, akin to the solution of a simple mathematical equation. 

But, that was then. 

Now, several months into her 1st Year at Nijigasaki High, her situation had changed for the better to an almost surreal degree. Rina had discovered the meaning of friendship thanks to a certain blonde girl, had come across a place where she could be herself thanks to the School Idol club, and had finally found a way to connect with other people through her live performances as an Idol. 

Rina was truly grateful to all of her friends, for bringing so much joy to her life. 

Despite all of that, however, the pink-haired girl had been struggling with… something during the last couple of weeks, something related to a particular friend from the School Idol club, and that someone was… 

“Rina-chan!” 

…The girl that had entered the classroom? 

With practiced motions, Rina paused the game she’d been playing, stored the handheld console in her school bag, grabbed the Rina-chan Board and proceeded to stand up from her seat. 

Now prepared to greet the new person, her golden irises followed the direction of the sound— 

Rina’s eyes widened slightly, a gesture that was most likely unnoticeable to her fellow student, as she got a good look at the unexpected visitor. 

It was none other than Yū Takasaki, one of her seniors from the School Idol club, and… the source of her recent worries. In the last couple of weeks, the girl has… No, Rina had no time to dwell on it, she had to respond! 

A hand rapidly flipped through the board’s pages, seeking to find the right drawing to complement the words that would soon come out— 

There it was! 

Rina selected the pink expression of shock and wasted no time equipping the Rina-chan Board. 

She was ready to talk. 

“Hello, Yū-san. W-What are you doing here? I thought we didn’t have to go to the club today? Rina-chan Board: Surprised.” 

Rina lowered the board in order to meet the 2nd Year’s gaze, but only enough so that she could keep obscuring most of her face. After all, she did _not_ want her senior to acknowledge the small blush that was beginning to paint her cheeks with a faint red. 

The pink-haired girl was a little embarrassed after stuttering in the middle of her question, but that wasn’t the only reason for the reddening of her features. 

“I was on my way back from the Student Council, and then I saw you here!” 

Whenever Yū smiled… 

“Setsuna-chan needed my help with some paperwork, and that’s why I stayed back. Anyways… Rina-chan, are you alone in here? I thought you’d be with Ai-chan.” 

It was too much for Rina… 

… 

…Who needed to answer the question. 

“Um… Ai-san is helping the basketball club with their training, and my other friends… they all had stuff to do…” 

Rina explained while looking to the side, attempting to avoid getting lost in admiring her senior’s radiant appearance. It had become a habit, staring at other people’s facial expressions to understand what made them different from her own, and the pink-haired girl had recently found that Yū's smile was one of the prettiest she had ever seen… 

Very distractingly so, in fact. 

Rina spared a quick glance. 

The way Yū’s lips curled upwards always looked _natural_ in a way she couldn’t explain, the way her eyes lit up in such a distinctive manner was strangely transfixing, the slight red tinge that colored her cheeks ever so slightly with each smile was surprisingly endearing, the way she seemed to _glow_ when she beamed at someone was… captivating. 

Unbeknownst to her senior, and to most of the other girls in the School Idol club, Rina had spent a significant amount of time during their recent meetings just… staring at Yū as she helped the others with all sorts of tasks and exercises. 

“Hmm… I see.” 

Yū’s words quietly resonated in Rina’s head, snapping the pink-haired girl out of her distracted musings. Her blush felt a little warmer now that she had caught herself staring way too hard at the 2nd Year’s smile, and she would almost miss the follow-up as she stressed about it— 

“Hey, Rina-chan. Remember that song I was working on?” 

Caught off guard once again, a few too many seconds would be spent looking for the correct expression on the Rina-chan Board. Thankfully, Yū seemed content to fill the gap in the meantime. 

“I think I mentioned it during our last practice session.” 

Rina nodded as a temporary measure while continuing to fumble with the board… 

There! 

She was taking too long finding the correct drawings. 

Lately, being around her senior seemed to cause Rina’s thoughts to go out of sync. 

“Y-Yeah…? Rina-chan Board: Curious…” 

Yū chuckled… fondly? 

Rina blinked. 

Then, she realized what the next words would be about. 

And felt the butterflies in her stomach as she waited for Yū to finish— 

“Well, the song is for _you_ , actually!” The girl revealed with an excited tone, before quickly adding, “I’m trying to base it around an electronics theme, since that’s what suits you the best, but I’ve been having some trouble with the lyrics, hehehe…” with decidedly less cheer. 

Her smile hadn’t faded in the slightest, though. 

Above all, Rina couldn’t help but focus on a certain detail— Yū had decided to write a song for her? And she was trying her hardest to capture Rina’s unique appeal, despite her difficulties with technology? Her senior had begun writing songs for the club ever since she got into the Music course, so this wasn’t entirely unexpected, but… 

With so many other girls in the School Idol Club, the fact that Yū was choosing to focus on the pink-haired girl, out of all people, made her feel… delighted, in a decidedly thrilling way. 

However, she couldn’t help but wonder… 

“F-For me? But… why me?” 

Those words escaped Rina’s lips as she hid beneath the board’s pages. What would the explanation be? Somehow, that question both excited and terrified the pink-haired girl, and that confusing mixture of feelings rendered her unable to return her senior’s gaze— 

“Well…” 

Yū closed the distance between them with enthusiastic steps, creating a noise that made Rina’s ears perk up ever so slightly, and then opened her mouth to share the reasoning behind her newest project— 

“The best way I can describe it is… During your latest concert, something magical _clicked_ for me as I watched just how much effort you put into your songs, and that something…” 

Rina was at the edge of her seat. 

What, exactly, was Yū about to say? 

She couldn’t wait to hear it— 

“It was a feeling unlike anything else… Rina-chan, I felt as if I’d fallen in love with school idols all over again! That’s why I decided to write for you!” 

The full weight of Yū’s statement took a moment to sink in. 

But when Rina finally understood the meaning behind it— 

A thud resonated throughout the empty classroom. 

The Rina-chan Board had slipped out of the pink-haired girl’s hands, falling to the floor with a blunt sound. Having known Yū Takasaki for a couple of months, Rina had become well-acquainted with her peculiar word choices, and when her senior used ‘love’ in a sentence… 

“Rina-chan?” 

She might be overthinking, or even misinterpreting the meaning behind Yū’s excited words. Falling in love with school idols all over again…? Something about the expression was short-circuiting Rina’s thought process whenever she tried to make a connection… 

_Awawawawa…_

Words failed her and, too overwhelmed to respond in a coherent manner, Rina came to the following conclusion— 

She had no idea what to do. 

“Hey, Rina-chan?” 

But. 

Rina knew one thing for certain— 

Her feelings for Yū were at their full bloom, thanks to her senior’s powerful declaration, and the sensation was so strong that Rina found herself unable to move. This… wasn’t the first time she’d had a similar reaction, and the ensuing memory allowed her to put everything into context— 

On the night before Rina’s first concert, when the pink-haired girl had found herself needing to develop a fully functional prototype of the Auto Emotion Convert device she’d wear on stage, two people had offered to help despite their lack of expertise: Ai, her best friend, and, to her surprise, Yū. 

To Rina, witnessing the full extent of Yū’s kind nature, rooted in an honest desire to support others to the best of her abilities, had felt like a revelation— Her senior would always be there to support her, no matter what, and that was something she’d never forget. 

In the days following that unexpected partnership, Rina would tell Ai all about the observations she had made, only to be met with the blonde’s light-hearted teasing. At the time, Rina didn’t understand the meaning behind Ai’s jokes, but now that she thought about her feelings… 

That feeling from back then, and these feelings from right now… 

Connecting the dots between the two, Rina came to an understanding— 

These were feelings of love. 

Rina was in love with Yū. 

And now… after so many weeks… 

“Yū-san…” 

Having connected with Yū through her songs… 

Rina knew— 

This was her chance. 

Her chance to confess the feelings she’d been harboring for so long. 

And she was _determined_ to take it. 

The pink-haired girl slowly picked up the fallen board, tucked the precious item into her school bag, and armed herself with all the courage she could muster in her tiny frame— 

Alright. 

Rina was ready. 

So she began… 

“Yū-san… I—” 

“Rina-chan! Are you okay? I was getting a little worried…” 

Yū’s words stopped Rina dead in her tracks, causing a whiplash that startled the girl into dropping her train of thought. Feeling disoriented all of a sudden, and having forgotten everything she’d been about to say, a searching look was aimed towards the 2nd Year’s direction— 

“Rina-chan? Come on… Are you listening?” 

Rina witnessed a sight that went against everything she’d been expecting. What met her gaze was not a smile, nor a surprised expression, nor a bashful look— Instead, Yū seemed to be confused and worried, with her head tilted slightly to the side and her mouth contorted into a frown. 

A chill went down Rina’s spine. 

Did Yū think… that Rina was behaving in a strange manner…? 

Wait. 

How… How did Rina’s actions… look? 

From Yū’s perspective? 

When the pink-haired paused to consider that, she arrived at an unsettling answer— 

Rina had dropped the board out of nowhere, had gone silent for an unusual amount of time, had unknowingly ignored her senior’s multiple attempts at reaching out, had taken way too long sorting out her thoughts and, when she finally raised her voice to speak, her tone had a puzzling amount of desperation to it— 

And her face had, most likely, remained emotionless throughout that whole sequence of events. 

It made too much sense, then. 

Rina had definitely made a mistake. 

“I…” 

Reeling from her perceived blunder, the pink-haired girl’s momentary confidence started losing its spark, flickering on and off like a lightbulb nearing the end of its lifespan. But, still… Rina could still do it, she could _definitely_ confess… Yū was still there, she was still listening, so… 

It wouldn’t hurt to try. 

Right? 

“ _I—_ ” 

Rina’s voice cracked, painfully, and all color drained out of her world as her resolve shattered into a thousand different pieces. Frozen in place, unable to stop the intrusive thoughts from whittling away at her vulnerable self, the pink-haired girl’s conviction was swiftly replaced by a powerful wave of anxiety— 

Inwardly, Rina found herself surrounded by several different questions that she wasn’t prepared to answer, that she didn’t have an answer for, that she didn’t _want_ an answer to: Why did she fool herself into believing she could confess? Why did she think she had a chance with Yū in the first place? Why hadn’t she considered the possibility of failure? If Yū couldn’t understand Rina without the help of the board, would the two even work as a couple? 

And, above all… 

What kind of face was she making right now? 

Was Rina’s pain actually showing through her features, or was she still an unsettlingly blank slate of emotions, even as she fell apart? 

…It was the second, right? 

Maybe… Maybe she could still salvage the situation… using the Rina-chan Board as a mask… to pretend like there was nothing going on… 

Rina extended a hand towards her bag— 

And accidentally knocked it over. 

Rina could only watch helplessly as it impacted the floor, falling way out of her reach. 

… 

That was the last straw. 

“Rina-chan, what’s wrong?!” 

Her heart… couldn’t take it anymore… 

Rina had failed in every sense of the word, to such an extent that there would be no going back to how things were. Having made a mess out of herself in front of her senior, the pink-haired girl knew she would have to explain what happened, sooner or later, because Yū’s kind nature would never allow her to… ignore a _friend_ in need… 

At this exact moment, Rina just wanted to disappear. 

The suffocating feeling in her chest was becoming unbearable. 

So her legs complied. 

“Rina-chan!” 

And she ran away as fast as she could. 

* * *

Yū Takasaki was at a loss for words. 

She’d just witnessed her friend, Rina, run away from her. 

With tears in her eyes. 

**Author's Note:**

> This...
> 
> This was supposed to be around 500 words.
> 
> I swear.
> 
> Anyways, this ended up happening because I lost a bet in the Idol Fanfic Hell Discord server and had to write Luna's (the winner) ship as a result. I tried my absolute best to come up with a decent Yū/Rina fic, which proved to be a very interesting challenge, and... it seems like I went a _little_ overboard? Lol
> 
> Now, when will Chapter 2 come out?
> 
> Only time will tell...


End file.
